Priebus to GOP: Improve 'tone'

A day after Mike Huckabee’s controversial comments about women’s libidos, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus implored Republicans to improve their “tone.”

“I’ve said many times before that the policies and principles of our party are sound,” Priebus said in a Friday speech at the RNC winter meeting in Washington. “However, as we look to grow the ranks of our party, we must all be very conscious of the tone and choice of words we use to communicate those policies effectively.”

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While Priebus did not call out Huckabee by name, top Republicans are privately frustrated that the former Arkansas governor’s fiery luncheon speech overshadowed RNC efforts to showcase their outreach efforts.

In his speech, Huckabee said: “If the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or reproductive system without the help of the government, so be it.”

A “rising stars town hall” immediately following Huckabee’s speech featured five women – including an Arizona state senator, a New Mexico state representative and the national chair of the College Republicans. But many reporters were too busy filing on Huckabee’s comments to pay attention.

“We should set the standard for future RNCs – and also set an example for other Republicans,” Priebus said Friday. “We all know the GOP has to get out of our comfort zones and go to places we haven’t been for a while and engage and welcome new voters.”

RNC co-chair Sharon Day followed up with a presentation on the party’s efforts to recruit more female candidates with a program called “Blackboard to Blacktop.”

“We’re not a group to be outreached to,” she said. “We’re 53 percent of the vote! … If we as Republicans want to win elections, then we as a party need to start delivering women votes.”

Priebus also announced that the RNC raised more than $7 million in December and has $9.2 million cash on hand. The RNC currently has 134 paid field staff spread around 35 different states.

At future meetings, Priebus plans to get control of the 2016 debate process as “a way to put a check on the liberal media.” He took some credit for NBC and CNN canceling planned projects on Hillary Clinton after the RNC voted at its summer meeting to say the networks could not host official debates if they went ahead.

“We said if you want to run your Hillary films, no debates for you,” he said. “A little while later, they backed down. They canceled their tributes to Hillary Clinton.”

“The RNC isn’t going to put up with the same old ways,” Priebus added. “We’re going to set a new standard.”